Let the Dream Begin
by fanwriter1245
Summary: Elaina is an ensemble member at the Opera Populaire. When she gets the lead in Hannibal, the Phantom is furious and makes sure she knows the role is not hers. Furious at having to give up her dream, her attempts to confront him lead to her being kidnapped. Over time, she learns he is not all he appears to be. Rated for suggestive themes. Combined movie/musical-more musical. Erik/OC
1. Hannibal

**In an effort to gain more followers and reviews, especially on this phanfiction, this is the first story I will be uploading periodically. I have the whole thing written already, so I will upload a chapter every two days. There will be eleven chapters. I'll be moving into my dorm room in a two weeks, so my life is going to get pretty hectic, but I feel confident that I can still upload chapters! Anyway, enjoy! **

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Elaina LaPointe was a very talented singer. It's just that no one knew it. She had been put in ensemble all her life and never once even had the smallest line. While she always wanted a lead, she was proud to be part of the Opera Populaire. She had been taking lessons for the past few years with Monsieur Reyer in private. They didn't want anyone to know because then other girls would also ask for lessons. But despite everything, Monsieur Reyer still liked Carlotta more than her. He and the manager gave her all the leads in every opera while Elaina always got ensemble, and Monsieur Reyer did nothing.

They were currently rehearsing for the new production _Hannibal_, which was opening that night. So far, it was mediocre and the cast had a lot to do in a few hours. Elaina's feet were throbbing from doing the dance over and over again in order to please Madame Giry, the dance instructor.

Elaina watched as Carlotta sang and wished it was her that singing. She knew she was very well capable of doing the role and she knew the lines by heart.

When the number was finally finished for the umpteenth time, their manager, Monsieur Lefevre, came in and stopped their rehearsal. Elaina saw he had two men with him that she had never seen before.

"As you know, for some weeks there have been rumors of my imminent retirement," Monsieur Lefevre announced. "I can now tell you that these were all true and it is my pleasure to introduce to you the two gentlemen who now own the Opera Populaire: Monsieur Richard Firmin and Monsieur Gilles Andre."

Everyone applauded for them, but Elaina did so half-heartedly. She liked their current manager, even if he did favorite Carlotta. He was still very kind and knew exactly how to run the place. And he knew how to deal with the so called Opera Ghost. She just hoped the new managers handled everything the same way he did. If they didn't, the peace they had been graced with would quickly stop once the Opera Ghost began to terrorize them. Elaina told people she didn't believe in the Ghost, but deep down, she couldn't help but wonder why it felt like the cast was always being watched, or why there was that slight movement in the shadows that could've been her eyes playing with her, or why Madame Giry seemed nervous when something went dreadfully wrong during rehearsals, or why she would occasionally catch a flash of black in Box Five.

Whether he was real or not, Elaina listened to her new managers.

"Gentlemen, Signora Carlotta Giudicelli, our leading soprano for five seasons now," Monsieur Lefevre introduced.

The one called Andre fervently shook her hand, treating her like the diva she was.

"And Signor Ubaldo Piangi."

Andre smiled. "If I remember rightly, Elissa has a rather fine aria in Act Three of _Hannibal_," he said. "I wonder, Signora, if, as a personal favor, you would oblige us with a private rendition? Unless, of course, M. Reyer objects…"

"My manager commands. Monsieur Reyer?"

"My diva commands?"

She clapped her hands demandingly and he went over to the piano to begin the song, "Think of Me." It was Elaina's favorite song in the opera and she sometimes used it to warm up with. Most of the time, she sang it when she thought no one was listening. Even though it always felt like someone was, even if she was sure no one was around…

Carlotta began the song and really milked it up for the new managers.

Suddenly, a huge backdrop fell right on top of Carlotta sending her to the ground! The chorus girls screamed and grabbed onto each other.

"He's there, the Phantom of the Opera!" she heard the chorus girl, Meg, exclaim as she grabbed onto her friend, Christine. Elaina wasn't close with either of them but only saw them from a distance and talked to them once or twice.

"Buquet!" Monsieur Lefevre shouted. "Get that man down here! What's going on up there?"

Joseph Buquet came down and pleaded with them all, "Please monsieur don't look at me! As God's my witness, I was not at my post! Please monsieur, there's no one there! And if there is, well then, it must be a ghost!"

The word "ghost" sent all the chorus girls into screaming fits again.

Andre went over to Carlotta and calmly said to her, "These things do happen."

She looked at him angrily. "Si, these things do happen. Well, until you stop these things from happening, this thing does not happen! Ubaldo, andiamo!"

Carlotta left in a sobbing mess, while Piangi went over to all three managers and said one word: "Amateurs!"

Monsieur Lefevre had had enough. "Well, there's nothing more I can do to assist you. If you need me, I shall be in Frankfurt!" He left just as fast as Carlotta, done with the Opera forever.

"La Carlotta will be back," Andre tried to assure everyone.

"You think so, messieurs?" Madame Giry said. "I have a message here from the Opera Ghost."

The cast members started quietly whispering to each other, wondering if it really was the Opera Ghost, or simply someone's attempt at scaring everyone.

"He merely welcomes you to his Opera House and commands you to continue to leave Box Five empty for his use and reminds you that his salary is due."

"His salary?!" Firmin exclaimed.

"Monsieur Lefevre paid him twenty thousand francs a month. Perhaps you can afford more, with the Vicomte de Chagny as your patron."

The chorus girls gasped, shocked that someone so rich and handsome was now supporting the opera.

"Madame, I had hoped to have made that announcement myself!" Andre said angrily.

"Will the Vicomte be at the performance tonight, monsieur?" Madame Giry asked, dismissing his complaints.

"Yes, in our box," Firmin answered.

"Madame, who is the understudy for this role?" Andre asked, hoping to rectify the whole situation.

"There is no understudy, monsieur! The production is new!" Monsieur Reyer answered in a huff. "Although," he added more calmly, "I believe that Elaina LaPointe can do the role."

Elaina froze in her tracks and her heartbeat increased. Was Monsieur Reyer actually offering her the role of Elissa?

"A chorus girl?" Firmin asked.

"She has been taking singing lessons for quite some time and knows the role quite well. I believe she could very well take over for La Carlotta."

"Well, let's hear you," Andre said.

"Come, Elaina," Monsieur Reyer said to her taking her hand and bringing her forward. "Sing a couple bars of 'Think of Me'." He pulled her close and said to her just so she could hear him. "I know you can do this. We've worked on this song many times, and you have a wonderful voice."

He went over to the piano and began to play the song. Elaina took a deep breath and tried to imagine that she was alone and singing the song in private:

_Think of me_

_Think of me fondly when we've said good-bye_

_Remember me once in a while _

_Please promise me you'll try_

_When you find that once again you long_

_To take your heart back and be free_

_If you ever find a moment_

_Spare a thought for me_

Elaina finished what was asked of her and the crowd around her burst into huge applause. Her spirits began to soar high above the clouds.

"That was splendid, mademoiselle!" Andre praised.

"Magnifique!" Firmin added.

Elaina was ecstatic. She finally had the lead role in an opera.

But she didn't know that someone was watching from the rafters. He watched her with hate and loathing. How had his plan gone so wrong? They were supposed to pick Christine, not this Elaina girl! She wasn't even as good as his Christine! He needed to fix this and fast. The opera was opening in just a few hours and he needed Christine to have the role of Elissa.

Elaina was taken to Carlotta's old dressing room and some costumers adjusted all of Carlotta's costumes to fit Elaina's tiny figure. Then she was shoved back to rehearsal to run through the show as the new Elissa.

Being the lead was everything she always dreamed! However, she couldn't help but notice that Meg seemed to be giving her cold looks. Elaina knew that Meg was known for her dance moves, not her singing voice. In fact, she was the Opera's best dancer, which made sense as she was the ballet instructor's daughter. The looks couldn't be because she wanted the role!

Nevertheless, Elaina enjoyed every second of the fame she had always wanted. But she remembered what Carlotta was like and tried to remain humble about it all. It proved difficult as people were finally starting to notice her voice and talk to her after realizing her talent.

A couple hours before the opening of the opera, Elaina was in her dressing room warming up and putting on her full costume. The nerves were starting to set in that in just a few minutes, she was going to be singing a lot of rather difficult songs in front of hundreds of people! An honor, no doubt, but also terrifying! If they didn't like her, or she made even the slightest mistake, it could seriously hurt her career and the Opera House as a whole! It was a lot of pressure to put on one person.

She sat down in front of her mirror and began to powder her very nervous face. She looked down for just a second and when she looked up, she gasped at the sight of a man towering behind her. His gloved hand slipped over her mouth as she tried to scream. He was dressed in nearly all black but had a pure white mask on the right side of his face. He had black hair that was slicked back, and a deep, rich voice.

"If you're wise, you will not go out on that stage tonight," he whispered in her ear. "That part was meant for Christine. I didn't work so hard to get Carlotta out just so that you would steal the limelight from her. She deserves the role more than you ever will."

In a flash, he was gone just as quickly as he had appeared. Elaina looked in the mirror and noticed that she was trembling fiercely and had a couple of tears leaking from her eyes. That had to have been the Opera Ghost. But why did he want Christine to have the role so bad? Did he personally know her? She didn't even know she had that good of a voice. He was the one who made Carlotta quit? Even though Elaina's dream was coming true, she had to refuse to sing tonight. The Opera Ghost had made that clear that for her. She was terrified of what would happen to her if she went out instead of Christine.

Elaina ran from the room to find Madame Giry or Monsieur Reyer or someone so she could tell them that she couldn't sing.

"Madame Giry?" she called as she ran down the hallway. "Madame Giry?"

"What is it, Elaina?" the woman said as she came around a corner.

"I…I can't sing tonight."

"Why ever not? You proved today at rehearsal that you have the voice for it."

"I just can't. I can't go out there."

Madame Giry's face softened. "I understand, my dear."

"Do you?"

"Yes."

Elaina was skeptical that Madame Giry really understood, but right now, she wasn't going to question it. This was much easier to do when someone wasn't yelling at her.

"I will just have to find a replacement and notify Monsieur Reyer and the managers. Though they will not be pleased," Madame Giry said in a kind voice. Maybe she really did understand. But wouldn't that have to mean that…she knew the Opera Ghost?

"Christine Daaé should sing."

"What makes you say that?"

"She has a good voice I'm told. She can do the part easily. She's the best choice."

"Very well. Christine has been taking lessons from a very good teacher. I believe you are correct. I will announce the news to everyone."

Madame Giry briskly walked off and Elaina's heart sank even further. This had been something she had wanted for the longest time, and now she had just lost it probably forever. Her heart raged at the Opera Ghost for making her lose the thing she wanted most. First, she needed to get out of Carlotta's dressing room as evidently, it was now going to be Christine's. Then, she needed to get back into her chorus costume and try to get through the performance, watching Christine perform the role that was supposed to be hers. It was going to be much worse than watching Carlotta.

Sure enough, Monsieur Reyer was not happy that his pupil had given up the star role and the managers were upset at the change of plans yet again. But Elaina knew she could not walk out as Elissa for fear of what the Opera Ghost would do.

She wanted to find out where he hid and demand to know why she had been forced to give up her dream. But for now, she had to get through all the performances of _Hannibal_, and then move on to the next opera and figure out what to do then.

Performing that night proved to be the worst night of her life. Christine was indeed a very talented singer, but her voice shook a few times from the nerves. Elaina tried not to hate her since it wasn't her fault. The opera soon ended, and Christine was showered with praise—praise that should've been for Elaina.

After everyone had seen Christine, including the new patron, Elaina wanted to stop by to talk to her. Perhaps she knew where the Opera Ghost was since he seemed to know Christine so well.

"Christine?" Elaina called as she opened the door. The room was completely dark. All the candles were blown out and had been for some time. There was a small sliver of light shining from the mirror. She looked closer and saw that the mirror was actually slid over. Had the Opera Ghost gotten Christine? She walked over to the mirror and pulled it over more. She took a look down the long entrance and began to walk down, determined to find the Opera Ghost. But she changed her mind and headed back when she realized that she was very quickly going to get lost in the labyrinth.

Elaina was going to leave well enough alone for the time being, but she was going to find that phantom!


	2. Taken

**Thanks to my two awesome reviewers! Here's the next chapter for you guys!**

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Christine stayed missing for quite some time, but eventually she did return. Although, when Elaina saw her, she was very pale and seemed ill. Something must've happened to her last night. What it was, no one would ever know except her. Elaina has no doubt that the Opera Ghost was behind it all. He was the only one who could make a person look so frail with fear.

That night, poor Christine struggled through her role as Elissa. When Elaina wasn't needed onstage for a while, she snuck up to the rafters, avoiding the perverted eyes of Joseph Buquet. She hoped to find the Phantom up here, watching the performance, or find a way to get to him. She had changed to a light dress that would not swish as much as her costume and would not give her away. She kept her ballet slippers on so she could change fast if it ended up that she needed to get back down and go on. She looked around as she carefully stepped on the catwalk high above the stage. It was a long way down and it made her hands a bit clammy.

But she wasn't careful enough and ended up tripping on some rope. In a massive panic moment, her foot got stuck and she tumbled over the edge. The rope held her foot, and thankfully her dress didn't flip over her head. She was just barely out of view of the audience, and she didn't want to yell for help. Not only would that be very embarrassing, but the managers would be furious at her. She attempted to pull herself up, but the position she was in made it hard for her to do so. She was about to give up and get help when she felt herself being pulled up. A hand went on her leg and then on her waist and she was pulled back up on the catwalk. She was about to express her thanks when she saw that her savior was the Phantom!

Before she could cry out, he took her wrist roughly and pulled her through a secret passageway.

"Let me go!" she cried as she tried to pull away. He was practically sprinting down the passageway down to where he must've lived.

"I am not going to let you ruin Christine's performance yet again!"

Elaina was terrified for her life. She had already upset the Phantom once! What was going to happen now that she had done it again?

The mysterious Phantom kept pulling her down and down and eventually they reached an actual underground lake. He threw her into a gondola and furiously pushed it along. Elaina had every intention of jumping out and swimming back, but they reached their destination before she could do so.

She took in where he had taken her. There were a ton of candles everywhere and an organ in the middle of the room. Sheet music was everywhere. No doubt he was a composer. And apparently a kidnapper as well.

He forced Elaina out of the gondola and threw her on the floor of the lair.

"Why have you brought me here?" Elaina asked desperately.

"You have seen me, twice! I cannot allow you to tell others about me. They will surely lead a hunt down here and find me! This I cannot allow."

"I wouldn't have done that! Please let me go!"

Elaina looked out at the lake and her heart sank at the sight of a portcullis blocking off the way she had come. She looked over at the Phantom and saw that his back was to her. She ran through the lake over to the portcullis. The water made her slower, but she still made it.

"Help!" she screamed. "Someone please help me! Help!"

Her screams were cut off as the Phantom's gloved hand slid over her mouth again and his arm slipped around her waist. She was dragged back to the lair and taken to a room.

Tears began to stream down Elaina's face from the fear of what he was going to do to her. He took his Punjab Lasso from his belt that was hidden under his cape. It was in the shape of a noose. But the Phantom didn't put the loop around her neck like she thought he was going to. Instead he grabbed her wrists and forced them behind her. He then put the loop around them and tightened it to the point where she couldn't get out. He took the rest of the rope and tied it to the end of the swan bed in the room.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Elaina cried.

The Phantom left the room without a single word. Elaina was sobbing now. She was scared and nothing was going right. First she had to give up the starring role and now she had been kidnapped by the infamous Opera Ghost. It seemed that all those times she thought she saw someone, it had indeed been him!

It took a very long time for Elaina to fall asleep. She was afraid the Phantom would come in and kill her while she slept. But soon enough, sleep overcame her exhausted form.

She awoke to her legs cramped and her back aching. It still felt late, but she had no way of knowing. She was beneath the world above and all light here was artificial. Her wrists were very sore from the rope. She was still alive though. That had to be a good sign.

"Hello?" she called out. "Are you here?"

She thought he must have gone out to terrorize some other poor soul, but then he walked in and just stood over her.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked, looking away from him.

After a very long pause, he finally answered, "No."

"Then why am I here?"

"You have seen me and you know where I live and how to find me. You know far too much."

"Christine does too. Why isn't she here?"

"You are not Christine."

He walked over to her and Elaina recoiled from him as he got closer to her.

"I am not going to harm you," he said not in a softer tone, but not as harsh either. He undid the rope holding Elaina captive.

On instinct, Elaina backed away from him a little.

"I have business to attend to. There is no use trying to escape for there is no way for you to do so."

He briskly left her as she continued to sit on the floor. Elaina laid her arms on the bed and proceeded to cry into them. She ended up falling back to sleep with half of her body on the bed and tears caked onto her cheeks.


	3. Beginnings

**Thanks to PhantomFan01 and TheImaginativeOne for being wonderful reviewers! And thank you to my lovely new followers! Here is another chapter for you! I hope you like! Please review telling me anything your heart desires!**

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Elaina stayed in the room for many days. She didn't dare leave for fear of incurring the Phantom's anger once more. He would bring her food sometimes and she waited until he was gone to eat it. At first, she refused to eat anything as she was afraid he would use the food to drug her or something. But her hunger got the better of her and she started to devour what he gave her.

True to his word, the Phantom never hurt her at all. In fact, he hardly even talked to her. But nevertheless, Elaina woke up each day scared of him and what he might do.

One day, Elaina peeked out of the room to see if the Phantom was there. He was sitting at the organ bench, and she watched as he played a few notes on the organ and then scribbled them down furiously on a piece of paper. His cape was off and it made him look much less terrifying than usual. In fact, she couldn't help but notice that he actually looked kind of...

"Can you play an instrument, mademoiselle?" he asked suddenly, making Elaina jump a foot in the air.

"Um…" she stuttered at having been caught. Did he just call her "mademoiselle"? Since when was he so polite? Especially to her? "I can play a little piano."

He got up from the organ bench. "Play," he commanded.

"Oh, no, I'm really not that—"

"Play!"

Elaina slowly walked over to the bench. "Okay."

She sat down on the bench and the Phantom walked around to stand on the right side of her, his back to her.

Elaina quickly tried to think of a song she knew. She positioned her shaking fingers over the keys to play the simple chord that started the song. But she was so nervous, she ended up playing a few discordant notes.

The Phantom looked over at her, pitifully trying to play a song. She was quietly whimpering, frustrated at herself for not getting the notes right and afraid of how the Phantom was taking this.

Suddenly, Elaina felt two hands gently touch her own. She saw that the Phantom was standing behind her and had his hands positioned over hers, keeping her own hands from shaking.

"Relax," he said gently in her ear, nothing like the voice he used before. He took his hands off hers and then placed them on her tense shoulders. "Relax," he said again. Her shoulders loosened up and she felt much calmer. "Now play."

Elaina played a small chord and then took her left hand off the keys. Her right hand played a simple, haunting melody by itself. The Phantom listened and, though he loved how the melody sounded, was admittedly disappointed that this was all she could do.

After a few bars, Elaina put a few chords behind the melody, but it was still a very simple song. He wished she could do more than this simple number.

That's when her song picked up. Her fingers flew across the keys from left to right, hitting nearly every single piano key in an extremely fast tempo. She never missed a note or a chord and when she finally finished, she actually began to rub her fingers.

"That was impressive," the Phantom said to her. "You have quite a talent."

"Thank you, monsieur," Elaina answered quietly.

"I may be willing to offer you lessons on your piano skills, if you are interested."

"If that's what you wish."

"Is it what _you _wish?"

"I will gladly take lessons, monsieur."

"Excellent. We start tomorrow."

_Wait, what just happened?_ Elaina thought.

* * *

Despite the fear that the Phantom struck into Elaina's heart, he was a very good teacher. He helped her learn to relax her fingers while she played especially difficult songs and to keep a steady tempo. He also noticed that she tended to tense up her shoulders when playing and helped her keep them relaxed as well. She had lessons for about an hour nearly every other day. The rest of the time, Elaina confined herself to the bedroom, afraid to be near him any longer than he wished.

The poor girl couldn't remember the last time she had a good night's sleep. She refused to sleep on the swan bed because she was afraid that doing so would anger the Phantom. Every night, she slept on the hard floor that kept her awake for hours and never allowed her to have a peaceful sleep.

The Phantom walked into the room late at night after Elaina had fallen asleep. He saw that the girl was lying on the floor. He didn't think much about it until he noticed the swan bed remained as pristine as the night he had brought her here. In fact, it looked…untouched. Had the girl slept on the floor all the time?

After a moment's thought, he picked her up and laid her in the bed. He thought about how he had done this for Christine when he had brought her down here. But this girl was not Christine. She was just an unexpected addition in his plans.

He didn't put the covers on her, but just left without giving her another thought. There was something about being so close to her though that made his insides twist. He refused to think about it any longer and went back to his work.

Elaina woke up and found herself in the swan bed. She began to panic, thinking she might have sleepwalked and climbed into the bed herself. But the more she thought about it, the more she just barely remembered being carried over. Had the Phantom actually put her in his bed? Elaina just could not figure him out. He terrified her, no doubt, but the more she stayed here, the more he seemed to soften up to her.

She slowly walked out of the room to find the Phantom at his organ once more.

"I never said you couldn't sleep in the bed," he said to her without looking up.

"You never said I could either," Elaina answered.

"Well, you may."

Elaina almost smiled at him.

"Are you ready for another lesson?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then come. We shall begin."

* * *

It was a few days later when Elaina saw that the Phantom was not in his lair. She was alone, so she started walking around the lair, finally having a chance to explore. She could never look around before because of the Phantom. She saw several drawings of Christine that he had drawn. They were extremely lifelike and it impressed her. She saw that he was actually obsessed with her once she found the wax figure of her. While creepy, it still impressed her. She found a few letters that he was evidently sending to all kinds of different people. All were signed either P.T.O or O.G.

Elaina walked over to the organ and rubbed her fingers across the keys. She never told the Phantom, but it was the best piano she had ever played in her life and she loved having the privilege to play it.

She took a seat on the bench and positioned her fingers over the keys and began to play. And then she began to sing. It was a rather low song for a soprano, but she still sang it effortlessly.

The song was a rather sad song about being caught in a terrible situation. Elaina began to tear up as she realized how she related to the song, but continued as it began to change. The song then became about overcoming the challenge and never giving up hope. By the end, Elaina was belting out the last note that echoed throughout the entire lair.

As she ended her song, she heard clapping behind her. She spun around and saw the Phantom near the edge of the water. Elaina sprang up from the bench and faced him.

"I'm sorry, monsieur," she said, flustered. "I didn't mean to play the organ without permission, I—I just…"

The Phantom held his hand up, and Elaina stopped speaking. "You have an impressive range. You are a soprano, correct?"

Elaina nodded her head.

"And yet you are hitting notes even some altos don't dare to reach."

"It…It just comes naturally to me, monsieur." She began to walk back to the room. "I'll just go back and leave you alone."

"Mademoiselle…"

She turned to him. "Please. Call me Elaina." The Phantom didn't say a word to her. She was almost into the room when she turned back to him. "Is there something I can call you?"

The Phantom turned to her, shocked. Was she asking for his name? No one had ever asked for his name, not even his Christine.

"You may call me Erik."

"Erik," she repeated before walking into the room.


	4. Il Muto

**Okay, just a warning. This chapter has a bit of T-rated material in it. This won't make sense now, but it will at the end: Nothing actually happened to her. Okay, so without further ado, here is Chapter 4! Thanks to my reviewers and followers!**

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"Monsieur," Elaina said to Erik. "Please tell me. What's going on up there?"

Erik remained silent.

"I haven't been to the world above for many days. Please tell me what's been happening."

"They are rehearsing for the new opera, _Il Muto_, which opens tonight. I specifically wrote that Christine should be cast as the lead of the Countess and Carlotta should be given the silent role of the Pageboy, but they completely disobeyed my orders."

"Wait a second, Carlotta is back?"

"Yes, the managers begged the diva to come back, and now she is the Countess while Christine is the Pageboy."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Why? It is not your fault this time."

Elaina walked over and picked up one of the drawings Erik had done. "Is this Christine?" she asked.

"Yes."

"She's beautiful. I can see why you like her so much."

"She has the voice of an angel. She is my Angel of Music."

Elaina was silent before she thought of something. "Is there any way for you to ruin Carlotta's performance?"

"Excuse me?"

"I don't know how, but you should humiliate the diva so much that she can't perform and Christine ends up getting the role."

"That is quite a bold idea."

"Christine deserves the role more. Carlotta is just arrogant and needs to be taught a lesson. They all do."

"I believe I am starting to rub off on you," Erik chuckled.

For the first time since she was brought down to Erik's lair, Elaina smiled.

* * *

Erik started to leave quickly after their conversation.

"Erik, wait!" Elaina called as she grabbed his arm. Once she realized she was actually touching him, she very quickly let go. "Um…please can I go with you? I haven't been out of here in…I don't know. Too long. Please? If anything, I just want to see Carlotta embarrassed!"

Erik looked at her for what seemed like far too long before taking her hand roughly, but not as rough as before, and putting her in the gondola.

"Stay close to me," Erik ordered as they reached the other side of the lake. "If you try to run, I will catch you."

"Yes, monsieur."

Admittedly, Elaina hadn't even thought about trying to escape. But now that he had said that, she couldn't help but wonder if she could find Christine or Meg or Madame Giry, and explain what had happened to her. Madame Giry seemed to know about Erik more than anyone. She knew, though, that that would be very unwise. Even if she did so, Erik would no doubt find her and take her again and he would be very angry at her. Elaina didn't want to risk it.

Erik went up to the rafters high above the theater. "Who's sitting in Box Five?" he hissed.

"What are you talking about?"

"One of my demands was that Box Five was mine."

Elaina watched as Carlotta sang her very high notes and then pretended to kiss Christine. She felt bad for that poor girl.

Carlotta sang her next lines:

_Poor fool, he makes me laugh!_

_Ha ha ha ha ha ha!_

_Time I tried to get a better better half!_

Suddenly, the Phantom's voice burst out and echoed across the entire theater, "Did I not instruct that Box Five was to be kept empty?"

Elaina saw Christine whisper, "It's him! I know it! It's him!" She seemed very afraid of him, but all Elaina could think was that she did not know true fear of him. She hadn't been his captive for several weeks.

Carlotta ran up to Christine and grabbed her arm. "Your part is silent, little toad!" she said harshly.

"A toad, madame?" the Phantom responded. "Perhaps it is you who are the toad!"

Carlotta began her song again, but right in the middle of a high note, she let out a huge croak! Erik chuckled softly, but covered it up well. Elaina held back her giggle.

Carlotta went to resume the song, but croaked again even louder. The Phantom's laugh echoed all across the theater. "Behold!" he exclaimed. "She is singing to bring down the chandelier!" Elaina looked at the beautiful chandelier that hung high above the audience's heads. It was starting to flicker and looked a little loose.

Andre hurried onto the stage as Carlotta ran off, sobbing all along the way in humiliation. "Ladies and gentlemen, the performance will continue in ten minutes time, when the role of the Countess will be sung by Miss Christine Daaé!"

Elaina smiled. "You did it!" she whispered to Erik.

"Yes, my Christine now has the role like she should have had in the beginning!"

Erik led her to the catwalk above the stage and it reminded her of how he saved her from falling. It occurred to her that he could've let her fall, but he didn't. He said that he didn't want her to ruin Christine's performance, but it seemed like there was more to it than that.

"Stay here," he whispered. She nodded to him. He left her alone on the catwalk to do whatever he needed to do. Once again, her mind told her to run and go find Madame Giry. She could get away from him and never have to go down to the lair again. Madame Giry would understand and could help…right?

Her head whipped around at the sound of footsteps. It was Joseph Buquet! He was on the catwalk with her!

"Well, hello, my fine lady!" he said quietly. "We've all been looking for you."

"Have you?" Elaina asked. Buquet made her feel very uncomfortable. She actually wished Erik was still here with her. Surprisingly enough, she preferred him over Buquet.

"Why don't you come with me?" he purred. "I'll take you back."

"No, I can't go back."

"Then why don't I just take you away?"

"No," she said firmly.

Joseph Buquet grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her away. She struggled against him and fell on her back on the catwalk. He leaned down toward her and she tried to push him away from her. She couldn't escape from him in their current position now. She wanted to cry out for help, but she knew she had to be quiet so as not to disturb the performance below, and no one could know that she was here.

Buquet overpowered her and leaned closer over her and Elaina couldn't get him off. She felt his hands caress her legs as they slid from her calf and kept going higher and higher. Her skirt was lifted up by his wandering hands and try as she might, she couldn't stop him. Suddenly, Erik appeared behind Buquet and threw his Punjab Lasso around his neck. Elaina watched in horror as Erik pulled the lasso tighter and tighter and then flung the body over the side, sending it down to the stage. Everyone screamed and panicked at the sight of the dead body with the broken neck.

Erik grabbed Elaina's hand and ran off with her. He took her through the same secret passageway he had used when he kidnapped her and ran down it. Elaina slowed behind him and tears began to flow down her cheeks. She began to cry as Erik stopped pulling her. All she could think about was Buquet's body on top of hers. It sickened her, and she was afraid what might have happened had Erik not shown up.

Erik put his hands on her shoulders. "It's alright." His voice was still rough, as if this situation was awkward and he didn't know how to handle it.

"Thank you," Elaina whispered.

Erik wasted no time. "Come, we must go to the roof."

"Why? What's on the roof?"

"My Christine."

He took her through another secret passage, and Elaina wondered just how many secret passages there were in the Opera House. They arrived on the roof in the middle of Raoul and Christine having a rather big argument, evidently about Erik, and hid behind a statue.

"What you heard was a dream, and nothing more!" she heard Raoul tell her. There was a short silence before she heard Christine sing to him:

_Yet in his eyes, all the sadness of the world _

_Those pleading eyes that both threaten and adore_

"Christine, Christine," Raoul said tenderly.

"Christine…" Erik sang softly, but hauntingly.

"What was that?" Christine asked in a frightened voice.

Elaina listened as Raoul sang sweetly to her. They began to confess their love for each other and Elaina watched as Erik's face became more and more pained.

She wanted to reach out to him. Even though she feared him, no one deserved to feel this way. But it was that fear that kept her from comforting him in any way. She snuck a peek at the couple and saw them drawing closer and closer to each other until the gap between them was closed and they were kissing. Erik looked like he was about to fall apart. Elaina knew how much he loved her considering all the things he had done for her. This had to be painful for him.

After what seemed like forever, Christine and Raoul finally left the rooftop, leaving Erik and Elaina alone.

Erik slowly went to the middle of the roof, while Elaina hung back. He picked up a rose on the ground that Christine must've dropped.

He ever so softly began to sing:

_I gave you my music _

_Made your song take wing_

_And now, how you've repaid me_

_Denied me and betrayed me_

_He was bound to love you _

_When he heard you sing…_

"Christine…" he whispered as he fell down onto his knees. He caressed the rose as if it was his tether to life itself. Elaina didn't know what to do. She wanted to do something for him in order to help his heartbreak, but he still scared her, and she was afraid of how he might react if she did anything.

Her head turned as she heard Christine and Raoul singing faintly:

_Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime _

_Say the word and I will follow you_

_Share each day with me, each night, each morning_

Erik crushed the rose in his hand and shook with anger. He quickly stood up, ran to a statue perched on the edge of the roof, climbed up on it, and belted out to the air:

_You will curse the day you did not do_

_All that the Phantom asked of you!_

He climbed down from the statue and roughly grabbed Elaina's arm. She winced, but said nothing. Erik went straight to the rafters of the theater and looked out. Elaina saw that the chandelier was flickering again. On the stage below, the cast of the opera was taking their bows. Christine came on stage to bow and the chandelier loosened from the chain hanging on the ceiling.

"GO!" Erik screamed, and the chandelier fell onto the stage right in front of Christine. Erik grabbed Elaina's arm again and hurried down to the lair.

Once back underground, Erik practically threw Elaina into the room and left her there.

Just when she thought that the Phantom of the Opera had finally softened up to her, Christine had to go and wreck everything. Now she was back at Square One with him and was terrified of him all over again.


	5. Up Above

**Thanks again to my new reviewers and followers! You are all amazing! Hugs for everyone!**

* * *

It was a few days before Elaina gathered up the courage to leave the room again. Erik, as always, was composing once again.

"Mademoiselle," he said as he turned to look at her. "I would like to apologize for that night on the roof. It was not your fault and I should not have taken my anger out on you."

Elaina was shocked. Was the Phantom actually apologizing to her? "Um, it's alright. You did save me from Joseph Buquet, so I guess it kind of evens out."

Erik remained silent. "I've lost my Christine," he said more to himself than to her.

"You'll think of something to get her back."

"Did you see how scared she was? All I did was show her my world. She's the one who decided to take off my mask and reveal my face."

"She saw your face?"

"Yes. I will not subject you to the same horror she had to see."

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you may think."

"I am a monster, Elaina. Now even my Christine thinks so."

He thought himself a monster? A few weeks ago, Elaina would have agreed in a heartbeat, but now, after getting to know him a bit more, she didn't think she could say that anymore. "What are you going to do?"

"I have been writing an opera for quite some time. I will finish it and then command that it be performed here in the Opera House with Christine as the lead of course."

"What will you do if the managers disobey your orders again?"

"They won't this time. Not after what I did to their chandelier. They didn't know what I was capable of. Now they do."

"When do you plan on giving them your opera?"

"Not until it is finished, and I have a long way to go with it."

"Are you going to pay anyone in the Opera House a visit in the meantime?"

"There is no reason. Christine and that stupid boy have left the Opera House for the time being."

Elaina's heart sank a little at the thought of not being able to travel back up anytime soon. Despite everything that had happened, it had been so nice to get out of the stuffy lair and breathe in some fresh air.

"Now they must fix the damage I have done with the chandelier and the stage. The Opera House will not be in use for quite some time."

"So you're just going to stay down here, writing your opera until everyone comes back? What if you don't finish in time?"

"I will."

"Yes, monsieur."

Over the course of the next couple of months, Erik hardly ever spoke to her. He seemed very intent on finishing this opera, and Elaina knew that there was more to why he wanted this performed. Most likely, it had to do with getting Christine back.

Erik decided to take another trip up, and Elaina begged again to go with him. She was extremely bored and needed some air. He had to think about it, but then allowed her with him.

They reached the end of the underground lake where they would climb some stairs and go through some passages. Erik got out and then reached for her hand. She stood up in the gondola and took it. But the gondola started shaking under her and then she was toppling out of it. On instinct, she grabbed Erik's hand tightly to keep from falling, but she ended up bringing him with her. Before she knew it, she was landing in the water. She came up soaking wet, and afraid of how Erik was going to react.

He looked angry as he came up out of the water and Elaina couldn't help but smile. She quietly giggled, thinking of how silly they must've looked falling from the gondola. Then she looked at herself and Erik and started laughing. They both looked absolutely ridiculous. While she was still afraid of Erik, she just couldn't stop laughing. She looked over at Erik with tears in her eyes. She saw his angry face start to transform into a smile and resumed laughing all over again and ending up slipping into silent laughter, causing her whole body to start shaking and her stomach to ache. Then she actually heard Erik laughing beside her. She had never seen the Phantom smile so much as laugh, but it was a really nice change. She wished he laughed more.

"Sorry," Elaina mustered out. "I really didn't mean for that to happen."

"Elaina, this is the first time I have truly laughed in a very long time. Though I suspect both of our clothes are ruined, I believe it is worth it."

Elaina burst into another round of laughs. Erik stood up and took her hands. He helped her up onto the stone floor that she had been trying to get on in the first place. They both wrung the water out of their wet clothing.

Erik looked over at the girl and couldn't help but notice how…different she looked. Her wet dress now clung tightly to her small frame and accented every curve on her body. Her wet hair glistened even in the very dim light as different water droplets dropped from her hair to the ground. She looked…so…

"I wouldn't do that," Erik said, forcing himself to stop staring, as Elaina took off her shoes. "There are rats in this place and other things you may not want to step on."

"We're trying to be secretive. You are an Opera Ghost. You're not going to be very ghostly if I'm squeaking with every step."

Erik looked at her for a brief second and then took off his own shoes. Together, they walked through the passages and ended up in the auditorium of the Opera House. It was dark and the stage was still cracked. The chandelier was gone, but a new one had not replaced it. It was almost creepy being in the place.

"This place isn't the same without people rehearsing," Elaina remarked. "What are you doing up here?"

"I needed to find out information about what is happening with the Opera House and when it plans to open again. I need to know how long I've got to finish my opera before my Christine comes back."

They walked around a little before they heard footsteps. Erik grabbed Elaina and pulled her into the shadows.

A couple of men came into their sight who were unfamiliar.

"How comes the repairs?" one man asked.

"It's tough. The Opera Ghost really did a job here," the second responded.

"What about the new chandelier?"

"The managers have gotten one, but it's taken a huge sum of money from our funds."

"Word is that there's going to be a grand re-opening at the start of the New Year in four months. The managers are throwing a huge masquerade party."

"A masquerade you say? We haven't had one of those in ages."

"And we're not going to if we don't get this place fixed up in time. Come. We must go to work."

Erik quietly took Elaina back down to the lake. They were both very careful getting in and out of the gondola. Just the thought of what had happened made her giggle again.

Erik began to pace once they were in the lair. "Four months?" he murmured. "That is not enough time. I still have much to do with my opera. But it must be done by then."

"Erik?" Elaina said. "Perhaps I can help you. I may not have much experience in composing, but I have proven that I have good piano and voice skills."

"Perhaps you may."

That wasn't a yes, but it wasn't a no. It would have to do. From what Elaina figured, Erik wouldn't be making many return trips above so she would have to do something to pass the time.


	6. Mistakes

Time passed ever so slowly for her. The weeks felt like months. As time crawled by, it came closer and closer to the party. As the masquerade drew closer, Elaina couldn't help but hope that Erik might let her attend.

One ordinary day, Elaina came out of her room to find the lair empty. While disappointed that Erik must have traveled up without her, she hoped that this would give her more time to really see what else was in this lair.

She ventured into what must've been Erik's room. Never once had she ever set foot in here and might not ever again. She glanced behind her to make sure that Erik was still gone. Then she walked into the room. It was very dark and she stumbled into things a couple of times. She looked over at what seemed to be a desk and looked at some papers. But what really caught her attention were several masks attached to a couple of statues.

She took one of them in her hands. It was white, like the one he always wore, but this covered both halves of his face instead of just his right side. It felt fragile in her hands and delicate. Elaina wondered what hid under that mask of his and why he wore it. Christine seemed frightened by it, but Elaina could not understand what could be so bad.

That's when the mask was snatched from her grasp as Erik's dark figure towered over her. Her heartbeat increased tenfold and her stomach dropped to the floor.

"What do you think you're doing?" he growled.

"I'm sorry," she breathed as she backed away.

"You should not have come in here!"

"I—"

"No one is to enter this room!"

Elaina kept backing away from him and ended up tripping and falling flat onto the floor right by the organ. "I didn't mean—"

"That room is strictly forbidden! You are never to enter it again!"

"Yes, sir," she just barely whispered.

"Curse you!" he screamed as he turned away from her. "You little viper!"

"I…I'm so sorry," Elaina said quietly as she ran to the room. Once in there, she couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks, leaving wet paths in their stride.

For the second time, she was just as terrified of him as before. How could she have been so stupid? He was a Phantom! Even if he hadn't caught her, he surely would've found out that she had been in there!

Elaina collapsed in silent sobs on the floor. She didn't dare make a sound for fear of angering the Phantom further. She climbed into the swan bed and allowed herself to succumb to sleep.

* * *

Erik was fuming. How dare that girl enter his private place?! And she had been so good this entire time! He thought about how he had cursed her. It was the exact same words he used when Christine pulled off his mask. But that didn't mean anything!

And now, he knew she was just going to go hide in that room for the next few days until she assumed he cooled down. It irritated him that she did that! Why hide from him? There was no reason at all! It wasn't as if she could go anywhere!

He heard her trying not to make her sobs heard, but he heard them anyway, and he had a mind to go in there and shut her up! He couldn't take that crying anymore! Did she ever stop? However, it didn't take long for her sobs to quiet and he assumed she had just fallen asleep.

* * *

Erik was right when he saw that Elaina hadn't come out of the room at all the next day. He was much calmer now and decided that he had had enough of Elaina hiding from him.

He walked into the room and saw her admiring the armoire that was in the room. She whipped around at the sound of him. Erik held up his hands to show he meant her no harm.

"Mademoiselle, this needs to stop."

"What does?" she answered timidly.

"Locking yourself away every time I lose my temper. I swore to you that I would not harm you, and I have stayed true to my word, have I not?"

She nodded her head slowly.

"So, you must know that you do not need to hide. That is not the way to face your problems."

Erik left the room as Elaina watched him go, utterly speechless. She thought for sure that he wanted her to stay out of his sight for as long as possible! And yet he was telling her to not lock herself away? And the way he spoke to her was so different than all the other times. She just could not figure him out.

* * *

Elaina woke up a couple weeks later and felt absolutely terrible. She was hot and cold at the same time and she felt weak and tired.

Erik noticed that Elaina had not come out of the room all day. There was no reason to be frightened this time, so she couldn't be hiding. Usually, even when Elaina hid herself away in the safety of the room, he could still hear soft noises, like a clatter from furniture or a small mumble now and then. But now it was utterly silent, except for a few little coughs coming from the room. He decided to go see what the problem was.

Erik walked in and saw Elaina still in bed, but she looked very ill. He went up to her and placed the back of his hand on her forehead.

"You have a fever," he said concerned.

Her face showed that she had heard what he said, but she couldn't find the energy to respond.

Erik left the room and got a cold, wet cloth. He came back and gently rubbed it on her face. She sighed as the cold felt great on her hot skin. Erik gently lifted her head up and placed the cloth on the back of her neck.

He left again and came back with a cup of water. "Can you sit up?"

Elaina dug deep for her strength and managed to sit up just enough for her to sip the water. It felt soothing as she felt the cool liquid rush through her body.

"Drink a lot of fluids. It will help you get better," Erik said. "Try to rest."

Elaina nodded and closed her eyes. But her dreams were filled with feverish nightmares. She woke with a start, unsure of how long she had slept.

Erik appeared at the entrance to the room. "Are you alright? You were making noises."

"The fever's giving me nightmares," she said tiredly. "That's all."

He presented her with a nice hot cup of tea. He then took the cloth from her neck and replenished it, then replaced it back on her neck.

"Erik, why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"All of this. Taking care of me."

"Mademoiselle," he said shocked. "I may be a ghost and a monster, but even I am not heartless enough to not get you well again. Besides, I may need your skills to finish my opera, and you cannot do so if you are ill."

He went to leave, but Elaina called him back. "I don't want to be alone." Elaina couldn't believe what she was saying. She was asking the Phantom of the Opera, who had kidnapped her and terrified her for months, to stay next to her.

So Erik pulled up a chair next to the bed. He made light conversation before telling her that she needed to rest.

"I'm afraid to," Elaina admitted. She hated sounding like such a child, but the truth was that the nightmares the fever was producing were awful.

"Close your eyes," Erik instructed gently but firmly. "Now relax."

Elaina focused on each tense muscle and loosened it up, like Erik had showed her to do during their lessons. She actually began to feel calmer. It took her not-fully-conscious mind a while to realize that Erik was singing softly to her! It was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard as her dreams beckoned her into their arms.

* * *

It was quite a while before Elaina was well enough to get out of bed. Anxious to get up, she lifted the covers off of her and put her bare feet on the stone floor. But when she went to go stand up, she fell right over into Erik's arms.

"I believe your muscles have somewhat deteriorated," he said, trying not to laugh.

He helped her stand again by firmly taking her waist with his left arm and holding her right hand with his. Slowly, he helped her walk out of the room and onto an awaiting chair out in the lair.

It was extremely humiliating for Elaina and incredibly awkward. She didn't like being this close to Erik. It made her very uncomfortable. Her heart was hammering from the close proximity to him. She heard him changing the sheets in the room, evidently not wanting her to continue to sleep on sick sheets.

She was so confused by him! Here he was acting so calm and kind when just days before, he had acted so cold towards her.

He came back out of the room and walked over to her. "You need to walk around a lot to get your strength back."

Over the course of the next few days, Erik helped her legs learn how to walk again. It was uncomfortable and awkward as Erik held her waist. Each day, he took her on the gondola and walked with her through the passages, never once losing his way. Over time, he let go of her waist and held onto both of her hands. Eventually, he only needed to hold onto one hand and then nothing at all. Elaina was embarrassed that she had needed so much help to walk around, but Erik told her all the time that there was no reason to be embarrassed. She was all the same. But she couldn't help but feel grateful for his help nonetheless.

* * *

When Elaina was finally back to her old self, Erik got her to help him with his opera. She was actually surprised that he took her up on her offer. He didn't seem like the type to accept others' help. That made sense, though, seeing how he had lived in isolation for who knows how long.

She listened as Erik played some of the melodies on the organ. It was a very haunting piece.

True to her word, Elaina could not compose anything. But Erik got her to sing what he composed to make sure it sounded good. After all, if his Christine was to sing it, it needed to be perfect. It certainly helped that Elaina could hit nearly every single note he played. It astounded him that she was capable of hitting so many notes!

Erik held out some music for her to sing:

_No thoughts within her head, but thoughts of joy!_

_No dreams within her head but dreams of joy!_

Elaina looked at the music. The words didn't feel right. "Erik, that second line needs changing."

"To what?"

"Well, it just repeats and it sounds wordy. What if we changed 'head' to 'heart'? And 'joy' to 'love'?"

Erik played the organ again and Elaina sang her new lyrics. "Yes, mademoiselle, that is much better."

While Erik continued to create more lyrics and notes, Elaina asked him, "How do you plan on giving them the opera? Just leave it on the managers' desks with another note?"

"No, "Erik said simply. "No one will have seen me for six months. My entrance will be much grander."

"What are you going to do?"

"What better time than the Masquerade?"

"You're going to the Masquerade?"

"Yes. It is the perfect time to remind everyone, especially Christine, who the real master is in _my _Opera House."

Elaina paused and then knew she could not put off the question any longer. "Will I be allowed to attend?"

Erik looked at her. "I don't see why not." Elaina gave him a small smile of relief. "After all, you have helped me greatly with my opera. It only seems right that you are there when I present it."

"You still haven't told me how you're going to present it."

"I will be dressing as Red Death from the classic story. It seems fitting. Then I will hand over the opera."

"What about Christine?" Elaina asked. "Are you going to do something about her?"

Erik was silent. "I hadn't thought about it."

"You should! She left you for six months after everything you've done for her!"

"We shall see."


	7. The Masquerade

**Okay, I officially love all my new followers and reviewers! Hugs for all of you! This is by far my favorite chapter. In fact, I stayed up until four in the morning writing it. It's time for the MASQUERADE! If you want to see what Elaina is wearing, do this:**

**Dress-Search in Google Images, and type 'free-shipping-strapless-ball gown-beaded-black'. It's the first one. Just replace the purple flowers with sparkles.**

**Mask-Search in Google Images, and type 'black and silver masquerade mask'. Again, first one.**

**As for her hair, I based it off Hermione Granger's at the Yule Ball in the fourth Harry Potter!**

**Okay, now just enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

It took quite a long time, but eventually, the opera got finished. Which meant it was a matter of days before the Masquerade Ball.

Elaina realized that she had absolutely nothing to wear!

"Um, Erik," she asked quietly. "I know you said I could go to the Masquerade, and I'm truly thankful…but it's just that I don't have the proper attire to attend."

"There's a couple dresses in the armoire to choose from," Erik said without looking at her.

"Um…thank you, monsieur."

She went back to the room and opened the armoire. Inside sat three gorgeous ball gowns! She had never seen such beautiful dresses in her whole life! One was a silver color with frills on the top and poofed out beneath the bodice. The other one was a sea green with off-the-shoulder straps and was more form-fitting. But her favorite one was a strapless black dress with a tight bodice. The rest of the dress flowed out, covered with a sparkly layer of black tulle. Different sparkles sprinkled the bodice. She knew right away that that was the dress she wanted to wear.

Since it was a Masquerade, she also knew she needed a mask. But Erik had made it clear that he wanted to be alone, since he had been so short when she asked about dresses. Besides, when she went into his room, none of the masks really fit the black dress. She still had a few days before the ball, so maybe, once Erik had calmed down a bit, she would ask him for a mask.

A few hours later, Erik came into the room. "Mademoiselle, did you find a dress?"

"Yes, but I am still in need of a mask."

"What kind of a mask?"

"Well, I guess anything with black and silver."

Erik left and soon returned with a beautiful mask that went perfectly with her dress. She had no idea where he had gotten it, and wasn't about to ask. It faded from black to silver to black again and had intricate designs and curlie-cues around it. The top, right where the center of her forehead was, was shaped almost like a crown, setting it apart from the rest of the outline.

"This is perfect," she smiled.

"I'm glad it is to your liking."

He was about to leave when Elaina called his name. She took a deep breath. "Look, I know you're making a grand entrance to this thing and all, but maybe you could at least escort me in, so I don't look foolish showing up alone?"

Erik didn't say anything for far longer than she wanted before finally, "I suppose so."

He didn't say anything else, and Elaina decided she would work out the details at a later time.

* * *

A later time ended up being the day before the Masquerade.

"Erik," Elaina said, trying to appear not as timid as she felt. "We need to talk about tomorrow night. You said you would escort me in, and I appreciate it. But how are you going to do so? You can't wear your Red Death costume. It would completely give away the element of surprise."

"Mademoiselle, I have thought about that myself. The only solution would be to wear two different costumes."

"If that's too difficult, I don't mind going alone."

"Nonsense, it is simple. Perhaps I can get my first taste of a real party."

Elaina smiled and turned to walk back. She took in the fact that was about to attend a party with the Phantom of the Opera.

The next morning, Erik was not in the lair and Elaina knew better than to venture where she wasn't supposed to this time! She went out and looked at his desk. There was a letter addressed to her along with a small box.

_Elaina,_

_Just in case you found yourself needing these for tonight._

_P.T.O._

Elaina smiled at the signature. Even though they were on a first name basis, he still addressed his letters as the Phantom of the Opera.

She took the box in her hands and opened it. In it sat little pins and jewels and other things she could use to fix her hair. Elaina let out a small laugh, surprised by the Phantom's actions. He didn't seem like the kind of man to think about things like that. Nevertheless, she was grateful and went about figuring out what to do with her hair, now that she had the supplies to do so.

Elaina never heard Erik come back because she was incredibly involved with fixing up her hair. Neither of them talked to the other as they prepared for the party.

Elaina decided to do her hair in an updo with part of it hanging down. She made some tight curls on the back of her head and secured them tightly with the pins. She left some of her hair loose at the bottom on the left side. When she finished securing her curls on the back, she curled the loose hair into loose ringlets and let them hang over her left shoulder. Then she took a few flowers and intertwined them in her tight curls. When she was satisfied with her appearance, she put on the black dress from the armoire.

Then she took some harmless adhesive Erik had given her along with her hair pieces and put it on the mask so she wouldn't have to worry about the string messing up her hair that she had spent so long on.

She looked at herself in the mirror and didn't recognize the face looking back at her. This was not the same girl from nearly eight months ago. She looked and felt older and different. It was a good different. She certainly had never felt more beautiful in her life. She found it ironic that she felt most beautiful in the place of a man that used to terrify her.

"Elaina?" she heard Erik's voice call her. "Are you ready, mademoiselle?"

Elaina took a deep breath and went out to the lair. Erik was dressed in a suit that would not draw attention to him whatsoever, which was good. He had on a black mask that covered nearly his entire face. Yet she could still see his green eyes get considerably wider.

"Is it too much?" she asked quietly.

"No," he answered just as quiet. "You look…wonderful."

What was this Erik was feeling? Elaina looked amazing! He never knew she was capable of looking so grand and…well, gorgeous! The dress really complimented her figure and the mask brought out her eyes splendidly.

Erik held out his arm, and Elaina slowly took it, unsure if this was really happening. He very carefully helped her into the gondola, neither of them wanting a repeat of their last experience, especially now that they were in nice clothing.

When they were at the entrance to the Masquerade, Elaina stepped back. "I don't think I've ever been to such an extravagant event before."

Erik offered his arm once more and said to her, "Neither have I, so at least we can be new to this together."

Something about the way he said 'together' made Elaina's stomach churn, and she didn't know why. They stepped into the Grand Staircase area, the highlight of the Opera House.

Elaina looked around in awe at the many people dancing to the fast music, dressed in every color, and each wearing a different mask.

"Mademoiselle."

Elaina looked at Erik and saw that his hand was extended to her.

"May I have this dance?"

Elaina could not believe what she was hearing. The infamous Opera Ghost was asking her to dance? In that one moment, her mind traveled back to the first time she had seen him. She smiled at how different their relationship had become.

"I would love to, monsieur."

Erik led her to the middle of the floor and placed his hand on her waist and guided her hand to his shoulder. He led her in a small ballroom dance, and Elaina couldn't help but notice how close they were. She was just as close to him as when she had been ill, but this time, it was not as uncomfortable. Her feet were led by Erik's as they moved around the floor. Elaina found herself laughing as the dance went on. She hadn't had this much fun in a very, very long time.

Erik dipped her and she felt his strong arm support her waist and back as his other hand held onto hers. She looked deep into his eyes and saw something there that she had never seen before. The coldness and anger that she had seen all the time had melted away and she wasn't sure what it had left behind. They were softer as they looked deep into her core. She was mesmerized by them until he pulled her back up and the trance was broken.

Elaina's arms remained latched around Erik's neck as both of them were silent. She could feel his gloved hands ever so lightly touching her waist and her back. Neither could explain the connection that just happened.

Their daze was once again broken as an unmistakable woman in a big pink dress glided past them, catching Erik's immediate attention.

Elaina shook her head and released herself from Erik's hold.

"My Christine…" Erik whispered.

Elaina noticed a sparkle come from her neck and noticed a ring! She looked at Erik and he had evidently not seen it.

_That's not going to go over well at all_, she thought.

"Um, you should go get ready," she said quietly. "I expect your moment is coming soon."

Erik just nodded, still looking at Christine, before walking away.

Elaina watched as all the partygoers danced wildly. She remained over to the side, her heart hammering in her chest. What had just happened? Something unexplainable had happened during that dance and her mind swam as it tried to figure out what was going on. She watched as everyone danced on the steps of the Grand Staircase and sang:

_Masquerade! Paper faces on parade!_

_Masquerade! Hide your face, so the world will never find you!_

_Masquerade! Every face a different shade!_

_Masquerade! Look around - there's another mask behind you!_

Elaina loved the song. But she couldn't get the dance with Erik out of her mind. There was something about the way he had been looking at her that was making her so uneasy.

The song continued:

_Masquerade! Burning glances, turning heads!_

_Masquerade! Stop and stare at the sea of smiles around you!_

_Masquerade! Grinning yellows, spinning reds!_

_Masquerade! Take your fill - let the spectacle astound you!_

The music took a very sore dive that Elaina recognized immediately and evidently, so did Christine. There stood the Phantom of the Opera at the top of the Grand Staircase, looking as terrifying as ever, though Elaina wasn't afraid. That was a first. He was dressed in huge red robes and had a very large skull mask on. He held his new opera in his hands. Elaina was curious how this was all going to go down. Erik hadn't told her much about his plans, but now here he was for all to see. He slowly walked down the steps and stopped in the middle. He sang hauntingly to his new audience:

_Why so silent, good messieurs?_

_Did you think that I had left you for good?_

Elaina had to smile at his words. There was no getting rid of the Opera Ghost. It was strange to her to think that everyone thought he was gone while Elaina had been with him the entire time, plotting for this very night.

_Have you missed me, good messieurs?_

_I have written you an opera!_

_Here I bring the finished score!_

_Don Juan Triumphant!_

Erik tossed the huge manuscript to Andre, who caught it questioningly. There was a slight pause before Erik continued:

_I advise you to comply, my instructions should be clear._

_Remember there are worse things than a shattered chandelier!_

He beckoned Christine to come closer to him and she obliged, much to everyone's surprise, including Elaina's.

When she was in front of Erik, he ripped her necklace off her neck and growled:

_Your chains are still mine!_

_You will sing for me!_

He disappeared beneath the Opera House floor that opened beneath him just as Raoul jumped in after him.

Elaina didn't know what to do now! She hadn't thought about this part! How was she supposed to get back to the lair?

…Should she even go back? If she wanted, she could very well escape right now and never return. She could go where Erik would never find her and take her again. Did she want to?

Elaina felt an arm go around her shoulders. She saw some man dressed in clothes far too expensive for his own good.

"Come, mademoiselle!" he urged. "You must get away from here before the Opera Ghost comes back!"

Elaina wrenched herself out of his grasp. "I'm fine by myself, I promise. I'll be okay."

"Mademoiselle, I must insist that you come with me for protection!"

"I can protect myself!"

He started towards her, but Elaina ran off, and saw to her relief that he did not follow. As she kept running from the panicked crowd, she gently pulled her mask off before stopping near a wall far from anyone else. She looked around and it seemed surreal that she had worked in this place for several years. It all was so strange to her now.

Suddenly, she felt a hand clap over her mouth and she was roughly yanked back. She let out a muffled scream, but wasn't surprised to see that it was Erik pulling her into yet another secret passage. No wonder everyone thought he was a ghost! With all these passages, he could get anywhere!

Erik quickly released her from his hold and angrily took her hand. Elaina's heart sank as she realized he was becoming cold once again. After such a perfect night, it was now ruined.

Once back in the lair, Erik released her in the room. But rather than feel scared at him because of his temper, she felt angry that every time something didn't go his way, he took it out on her. Erik's words to her about her needing to stop locking herself up came back to her. She threw her mask on the bed and quickly exited the room.

"Erik!" she called. She pushed her anger aside and asked in the calmest voice she could, "What happened?"

"It's none of your concern. Go to your room!"

"No!" Both of them were equally surprised at her reaction, but Elaina would not take it back. "You said to stop locking myself away. So I am! Now tell me what's wrong!"

"My Christine is engaged to that fop!" he growled.

"I know, I saw the ring."

"I gave her everything! I helped her, I made sure she got the leading soprano roles, I showed her my world, I opened her eyes!"

"You'll think of another way to get her back," she said in a soothing voice. It made goosebumps appear on Erik's skin. He looked over at her. She looked just as flawless as before, despite the dancing and running.

No. He only had eyes for Christine. His Christine.

"If you want, I can help you figure it out," Elaina smiled. When he didn't say anything, she continued, "Rehearsals for _Don Juan Triumphant_ start in just two days. You're the one who sends letters all the time. I think it's time for another note, Monsieur Director."

Elaina watched as Erik noticeably relaxed. "I believe you are right, mademoiselle."

Elaina smiled, knowing that the Erik she had been with all night was back.

The both of them sat at his desk and Erik prepared his quill pen and began to write. Seeing as he had already instructed who should play who when he presented his opera, his first note was addressed to Andre:

_Dear Andre, _

_Re my orchestrations, we need another first bassoon._

_Get a player with tone and that third trombone has to go! _

_The man could not be deafer, so please preferably one who plays in tune!_

Elaina couldn't help but giggle at his sarcastic words. Sadly, he was right. She always knew there was something off about their orchestra. Now she knew she wasn't crazy.

The next letter was addressed to Firmin:

_Dear Firmin, _

_Vis a vis my opera, some chorus members must be sacked._

_If you could, find out which has a sense of pitch. Wisely, though._

_I've managed to assign a rather minor role to those who cannot act!_

"Was the chorus really that bad in the last few productions?" Elaina asked.

"More for their dancing than their singing. But yes, some of those chorus members, particularly the men, need much help on their voice work."

His final letter was to be received by everyone as he addressed several people in it.

Erik spoke his words as he wrote them:

_Fondest greetings to you all_

_A few instructions just before rehearsal starts._

"Who should I address first?" Erik asked Elaina.

"Carlotta," she answered a little too quickly.

"Alright, then. What should I say about her?"

"That she should leave the Opera House and never return because she is too much of a diva to put up with and is more of a curse on this Opera House than the Phantom will ever be."

"Those are some choice words, mademoiselle."

"Sorry. If you can't tell, I've never really liked her that much."

"Here's what I'll say instead:

_Carlotta must be taught to act._

_Not her normal trick of strutting 'round the stage!_

"Piangi next," Erik said following Elaina's giggle about his comment about Carlotta.

"He's not so bad," Elaina said, "except that he waits on Carlotta hand and foot. And he is on the bigger side…"

Erik proceeded to write:

_Our Don Juan must lose some weight._

_It's not healthy in a man of Piangi's age._

"That's a bit insulting," Elaina remarked. "But sadly true. Do the managers next."

_And our managers must learn_

_That their place is in an office, not the arts._

"You're right about that one. Monsieur Lefevre was so much better as the Opera's manager. These managers know absolutely nothing about true opera!"

"Looks like we're finally to Christine," Erik said in an almost pitiful tone.

"Looks like we are. Be kind on this one, Erik."

"Of course."

_As for Miss Christine Daaé,_

_No doubt she'll do her best. It's true her voice is good._

_She knows, though, should she wish to excel she has much still to learn,_

_If pride will let her return to me, her teacher, her teacher._

"You're her voice teacher?" Elaina asked astounded.

"I thought that much was obvious."

"I guess I just never really put it together."

Erik signed off his letter as always: _Your obedient friend and Angel_.

"I think those are quite sufficient," Elaina said as she read over them again. "And I don't think they're going to disobey your orders again, especially not after the whole chandelier incident."

"Mademoiselle, I must ask. Why didn't you leave during the Masquerade Ball? You had plenty of opportunities to do so and be rid of this place."

"Honestly, Erik, I don't know. I must admit that I thought about it, but it didn't seem right. And besides, who else is going to help you win over your love?"

Erik actually smiled. "It is quite late and you've had a long night. Go rest."

"But what about the letters?"

"I will deliver them before the start of the day. Please rest."

Elaina obliged his gentle request and went to the room. She went to the armoire and picked out the simple white nightgown she had noticed when picking a dress. Frankly, she was tired of sleeping in clothes and was going to wear this no matter what Erik said. A couple months ago, she would've been terrified to even touch the armoire, and yet here she was picking out clothes at her heart's desire.

She went behind a small dressing screen and changed out of her dress. Then she changed into the nightgown and found it was one of the most comfortable things she had ever worn. Finally, she set about getting all the pins and curls out of her hair. When that was finally done, she climbed into the swan bed and found herself quickly asleep, dreaming of that one special dance with Erik.


	8. Pasts Revealed

**Well, I am all settled into my dorm room in college! It's scary and exciting and I'm just about ready to start belting out A Whole New World on the street! Anyway, here is the next chapter! Only a few more left :)**

* * *

When Elaina awoke, Erik was playing the organ, and he didn't seem happy.

"Did you deliver the letters?" she asked softly.

"Yes," he stated bluntly.

"I take it that it didn't go well."

Erik stopped playing and looked at her. "I stayed after I delivered the notes to listen to what they were going to say and do, and make sure they followed my demands."

"Are they still disobeying your orders?"

"No, it's not that. They have a plan to capture me."

"They what?"

"They intend to perform my opera, and they know that I will be in Box Five where they will proceed to arrest me or shoot me."

"Well, then you can't go to Box Five to watch the opera."

"Of course not. They think I am predictable, but a ghost is never predictable."

Elaina smiled. "What do you have in mind?"

"I am not going to simply watch the opera. I am going to be in the opera."

"How are you possibly going to do that?"

"During the song, _Past the Point of No Return._ You remember the song, yes?"

"Of course I do. I remember working intensively on it. Is this why?"

"Yes. When Don Juan leaves the stage with his cloak and hood on, I will then take his place, and no one will know it is me because my face will be hidden by the cloak."

"And you and Christine will sing the duet together," Elaina finished, understanding his intentions.

"Precisely." He paused before continuing, "And you, mademoiselle, are going to help me achieve this."

"What are you talking about? How am I supposed to help?"

"I've written an…addition to my opera that you are to sing so that you are in the position to help me onstage and win Christine."

"The Opera Ghost is asking for help?" Elaina asked surprised.

"Isn't this what you've always wanted? A lead role in an opera?"

Elaina paused. "How do you know that?"

"I am a ghost. I see and hear everything."

"If I didn't know you better, I'd say that was the creepiest thing I'd ever heard!" They both laughed lightly. "What am I to sing and can I learn it by the time of the opera?"

"Of course you can. And the part will show the audience your impressive range of voice."

"Just tell me what to do."

"Know that you will not get rehearsals with any other cast member. You must trust what I teach you and take it on stage, despite the lack of interaction with the cast."

"Of course, monsieur."

Erik explained to her that she would be one of Don Juan's servants, Chryssa, who was in on the plan between him and Passarino. She helped the both of them get ready and then would leave with "Passarino" who was really Don Juan. When the two were offstage, she would help him make the switch.

It seemed easy enough to her, so she spent most of the day learning the songs she was to know for his opera. She didn't sing much right before Erik and Christine's song, but Erik had given her almost an entire song before Don Juan and Passarino came into the room. It was all about how she wondered if she was doing the right thing for her master. Then she began to question many of her previous actions she had done for him. It culminated to her knowing that she must do what her master asks of her to live, though in her heart, she will always be a free woman.

Erik was right. The song had a very wide range to it. And Elaina loved it. This was finally her shining moment. And she didn't have to worry about anyone taking it away from her.

After a long day of rehearsing, Erik told her to rest her voice so they could resume working over the course of the next few days. The opera was to open within less than a month. Normally, operas took much more time to rehearse, but Erik needed it to be opened now if he ever wanted a future with his Christine.

* * *

A few days later, Erik and Elaina were by the organ, as Elaina attempted to continue learning her song. They still had a very long way to go.

"Mademoiselle," Erik said as Elaina looked up from the sheet music he had given her with her song on it. "I must know, how did you come to such a place as this?"

"You mean you want to know where I came from?"

"Well, you do not have a French accent, which must mean you did not grow up here. So how did you find yourself at the Populaire?"

Elaina sighed. It had been a long time since she explained her past to someone. No one was willing to listen. But she had wanted to pour her heart out for the longest time. And here she was about to do so with the Opera Ghost she disbelieved in a few months ago. With a deep breath, she began her story.

"I may not have a French accent, but I did grow up here. I've known nothing other than this Opera House. My mother, an English woman, gave birth to me within its very walls. She loved me for about two minutes, then she was reminded of why I had come into the world. My father abandoned her when he found out she was pregnant with me and left her to fend for herself. Then my mother died from illness when I was just three. Not that it really mattered to me. I was sad of course, being the young naïve child I was, but she was never really a mother to me. She never even looked my way. The ballet girls from that time were more of a mother to me than she was.

"Monsieur Lefevre allowed me to stay, but told me I must work if I wanted to call the place home. So at age four, I worked with the servants to keep the Opera House in pristine condition."

"At just four?" Erik asked astounded.

Elaina nodded. "It was difficult, and I cried a lot, especially when I saw children with their parents, attending an opera. I wished for a childhood, but I was forced to grow up much too soon. Nevertheless, I watched and I listened to everything around me, and I learned from the casts of the operas. When in private, I would sing quietly to myself to see how I sounded.

"When I was sixteen, I decided to audition for an opera. That didn't go over well with anyone, but Monsieur Lefevre and Monsieur Reyer gave me the chance. So I sang a quick rendition of a song from a past opera that I loved when we had performed it."

"And they liked you?"

"Enough so they let me join the cast, and I was no longer a servant. It took a long time for anyone to talk to me. They were disgusted that a servant girl was now part of the Opera Populaire. Monsieur Reyer saw potential with my voice and offered me singing lessons in private and in secret. I worked in the Opera House ever since. I've made a few friends since I joined the cast, but most of them are still repulsed by my past."

Elaina took a deep breath. That felt good. She had never once been able to tell her life story to anyone, not that it was really a story worth telling, but she need to get it off her chest. And now, here in the room with Erik, she had finally done so.

"You felt alone?" Erik asked.

She nodded. "More than anything."

"I understand." Erik paused. Like Elaina, he had never shared his story with anyone except Madame Giry. Could he now? "I was born with this face," he began, lightly touching his mask. "And right away, my mother hated me for it. She gave me up the first chance she got, when I was four as well. With a face like this, she went to the one place that made sense. She gave me up to a traveling gypsy show."

"She what?"

Erik nodded solemnly. "I was on display for all to see. I was known as the Devil's Child."

Elaina just sat there, mouth agape. It was one thing for someone to hate her because she was a servant, but this was something else entirely.

"I was kept in a cage with a sack over my head to shield my face from the world outside. That is, until the man who kept me prisoner whipped me and took off the sack to show off my face to everyone, who proceeded to throw things at me."

Elaina blinked back the tears that were forming. If she had known all of this before, she would never have judged him so harshly. No wonder he seemed so cruel. He had a rough past filled with anger and torment.

"Until the night Madame Giry came," Erik continued, lost in the memory. So Elaina had been right. Madame Giry did know Erik. "From the moment I saw her, I knew she was different from the rest. She looked at me with overwhelming pity I had never seen in my entire life. She even stayed longer than the other people, still looking at me with such sadness, it filled me with hope.

"I knew I had to get out. I couldn't live like that any longer. So I grabbed the whip and quickly fashioned it into a loop and killed the man who kept me caged. Madame Giry locked eyes with me, and she appeared scared, but she didn't run or scream. Then a man came in, yelling that there had been a murder. So Madame Giry grabbed my hand and we ran to the Opera House. She helped me escape and then kept me safe and gave me a home there. Since that night, I built up a name for myself and practiced in the art of composing, singing, magic, and many other talents. I can never thank her enough for what she did for me all those years ago."

The pair just sat by the organ in silence for the longest time, each reflecting on their miserable histories.

"Erik…" Elaina started, but couldn't find any words. She just remained speechless for a few minutes longer. "I'm so sorry."

Erik was silent, lost in his own thoughts. He had just told this girl his whole story, something he had never told anyone, not even Christine. Of course, she also never gave him the chance. Sitting here with Elaina, he realized they had more in common than they realized. Both grew up with unloving mothers, no father, and had very unhappy childhoods. At least Erik's torment was over around the age of eleven, while Elaina's lasted her whole life.

Elaina sat down next to him on the organ bench. She didn't care about being close to him this time. She softly touched his hand, a sensation that gave Erik goosebumps. "I can't imagine what you've been through."

Their eyes met and Erik saw the exact same pity in hers that he saw in that young ballet girl's so many years ago. "This curse brought upon me doomed me to that fate at birth."

"My father doomed me to my fate. I've grown up with no love known to me. And now I see that you have too."

"I was cursed as a monster."

Elaina's hand went up and touched the side of his face with no mask. "You're not a monster," she said softly. They leaned toward each other…closer…and closer…

And suddenly, Erik quickly pulled away. What was he doing? He was not about to betray his beloved Christine! Not after all this work he had done to call her his own. This wasn't supposed to happen.

But Elaina gave Erik something Christine never did. They had tragic pasts they could each relate to and he certainly found her talented in many ways. Her voice was not Christine's. This girl was not his Christine.

But he couldn't help but wonder…

* * *

After some time, he went to deliver the new music to the managers with instructions as who was to play the new role and how she would not arrive until the opera opened. It was then that he learned of Christine's plans to visit her father's grave.

Erik wasted no time. He had to get there before she did. But he needed a few things from the lair first…

Elaina watched as Erik frantically gathered things up, including a staff and a sword, and prepared to leave one more. "Erik, wait! Where are you going?"

"Christine is going to the cemetery and I must meet her there!"

"Let me come with you! I can help you!"

Erik was silent before agreeing to let her come along. They quickly hurried to the cemetery and headed to the mausoleum marked "Daaé".

Erik climbed on top of the mausoleum and helped Elaina up as well. Elaina soon heard Christine's voice and Erik forced her to get down and warned her that no matter what happened, she had to stay out of sight. This was between him and Christine. Elaina nodded, though she wasn't sure what they were getting into.

They listened as Christine sang about wishing how her father was with her once more and how much she missed him and then how she knew she had to let go of him.

"Sing to her," Elaina whispered.

Erik looked at her and obeyed her request. It felt strange telling him what to do. Before she knew it, he was singing in that soft and haunting voice of his:

_Wandering child, so lost, so helpless_

_Yearning for my guidance._

Elaina listened as Christine actually sang back to him:

_Angel of father, friend or Phantom?_

_Who is there staring?_

**_Have you forgotten your angel?_**

_Angel oh speak, what endless longings_

_Echo in this whisper?_

Erik sang back and then Elaina heard Raoul's voice mixed in with it all. That wasn't supposed to happen. What was Raoul doing here? It was supposed to be just Erik and Christine:

_Too long you've wandered in winter. _

**_Once again she is his_**_. _

_Far from my far-reaching gaze. _

**_Once again she returns. _**

Christine began to sing once more and soon they were all singing over one another. Then Erik began singing lowly:

_I am your Angel of Music._

_Come to me Angel of Music_.

"Angel of Darkness, cease this torment!" Raoul cried out. Elaina saw Erik smile, enjoying the fop's pain. "Christine, Christine, listen to me. Whatever you may believe, this man, this thing, is not your father! Let her go, for God's sake, let her go! Christine!"

"Raoul!" Christine cried, broken from the Phantom's spell.

Erik took his staff in hand and launched a fireball at them. "Bravo, monsieur! Such spirited words!" Another fireball came from the staff.

"More tricks, monsieur?" Raoul cried.

"Let's see, monsieur, how far you dare go!" Erik launched yet another fireball at the two.

"More deception? More violence?"

Erik and Raoul went at it as Erik's staff continued to spout several fireballs. Then without warning, when Raoul was at just the right spot, Erik whipped out his sword and leapt down from the mausoleum roof right in front of Raoul. Though Elaina couldn't see it, she could hear their swords clanging against each other and endless grunts of exertion and frustration.

She direly wanted to look over the cemetery and see what was happening, but she couldn't risk Raoul or Christine seeing her. They might force her to leave. Was that good or bad? Did she want to be seen?

"No, Raoul!" Christine suddenly cried out. "No. Not like this!"

Elaina listened to the sound of a horse galloping off and found it safe to look out. She saw Erik stand up and saw specks of blood, tainting the white snow.

"So be it! Now let it be war upon you both!"

"Erik!" Elaina called. She somehow managed to get off the roof herself and ran up to him. "Are you alright? I heard the swords and there's blood."

"I slashed the boy's arm, but I am alright."

"Are you sure?" Elaina found herself with her hands on Erik's shoulders while one of his hands lightly touched hers. Once again, she found that she couldn't look away from him. It was like he cast the same spell on her as he did with Christine, but he didn't need to utter a sound to draw her in. She broke away from him and shivered, though she wasn't sure if it was from the cold or from something else. Erik pulled her next to him and wrapped his cape around her shoulders. It felt strange to be so close to him, even though they had been this close several times before.

Erik took her back to the lair so they could finish rehearsing her part. He needed the opera perfect now more than ever.


	9. Erik's Opera

Erik began rehearsing intensively with Elaina so she would be as perfect as possible. He was starting to regret giving her such a difficult number. If she messed up, the opera was messed up, and he could very well lose his chance to win Christine.

He sent instructions to the costume department, demanding what Elaina's costume was to look like and where to leave it on opening night.

Elaina's stomach flipped as the night drew closer and closer. This was a huge night for both her and Erik, and the last thing she wanted to do was wreck it.

On the day of the opera, Erik told her to rest her voice so she would be prepared for all the low and high notes in her song. She was allowed to do a few warm-ups, but no more. He also made her some tea to drink throughout the day to keep her throat relaxed.

It was just an hour before the curtain rose and Erik was still not in the lair. He'd been gone all day, and Elaina had no way of getting back up herself.

He was soon back, carrying a dress, which she presumed was the costume she was to wear.

"Here, mademoiselle," he said after exiting the gondola. "This is your servant costume, specially made for you. We are to be up and in place within the hour."

"Yes, monsieur."

Elaina went to the room and began to change. The costume was a bit more revealing than she would've liked, but she had to admit that it showed her figure and brought out her skin tone. It had white lace sleeves and chest and a deep red corset that laced up loosely in the front. She had a black skirt that went to her ankles with a layer of black lace over it. She wore some simple black ballet shoes to go with it.

She did her hair in a half-up-half-down hairstyle. She tied half of her hair up into some loose curls and pinned it. Then she loosely curled the hair that hung down on her neck and reached the middle of her back.

She stepped out quickly, knowing that Erik would want to get to the stage as soon as possible so he could be ready for his performance.

Erik was wearing his signature white mask and his normal suit. Elaina was about to say something when she remembered that he would be wearing a cloak the whole time and no one would be able to see who he was.

Erik remained quiet when he saw her.

"Are you nervous?" Elaina asked.

"Yes, I am," Erik admitted.

"Don't be. You will do fine and our plan will work. It has to."

"Are _you_ nervous, mademoiselle?"

"Greatly. I've never had such a big role in any opera before, nor have I performed something of this difficulty in front of an audience."

"Mademoiselle, you will do splendidly. You know the part well. We have worked on it many times and you have sung it perfectly nearly every time."

"Yes, monsieur. Besides, this whole opera is about you and Christine. I'll be fine."

There was a pause before Erik said quietly, "You are missing one more thing." He took a small rose and pinned it right in the middle of her curls where she normally would've placed a jewel. She liked the rose much more.

She turned to face him and caught his eyes once more. Even more of the cold and hate had flowed away. There were still traces of the anger that was always present in his personality.

For some strange reason, Elaina found her breath catching in her throat, and it wasn't because of the tight corset.

Finally, Elaina forced herself to break her gaze with him and went to the gondola. He followed behind her and they went back above to the Opera House.

It seemed strange to Elaina to be performing onstage again. She hadn't done so in nearly a year. And yet at the same time, she felt right back where she belonged.

Erik took her above the stage into the rafters where they couldn't be seen by any eyes.

There were shouts of different men declaring that the doors were secure, so the Phantom couldn't escape. Those men were so foolish. The Opera Ghost does not use doors.

Suddenly, Erik was singing beside her in his most haunting voice yet. "I'm here, the Phantom of the Opera!"

Elaina watched as the men looked all around, looking for where the voice was coming from. Then Erik sang again, but it sounded as if he was in a totally different place!

"I'm here, the Phantom of the Opera!"

He looked over at Elaina and actually smiled at her. She quietly giggled back at his trick, greatly impressed.

"I'm here! I'm here! I'm here!"

A gunshot rang out, and Erik instinctively pulled Elaina close to him, afraid that the bullet was going to hurt one of them. When he realized their close proximity, he quickly released her.

"Idiot!" Elaina heard Raoul scream. "I said only when the time comes!"

"But Monsieur le Vicomte…!"

"No buts!" Erik called out. "For once, Monsieur le Vicomte is right."

_Seal my fate tonight_

_I hate to have to cut the fun short!_

_But the joke's wearing thin!_

_Let the audience in!_

_Let my opera begin!_

Erik took Elaina's hand and led her to the wings of the theatre and kept them in the shadows until their time. Elaina watched the opera unfold. She remembered working on the whole thing with Erik down in the lair and could recite nearly the entire thing. It was all going very well, though the audience's reactions were a mixture of confusion and disgust. After all, this was not the kind of opera they were used to.

Finally, Elaina's time had come. She took some deep breaths and felt Erik whisper to her, "You will do wonderfully."

Elaina took one final deep breath and walked out onstage. There were several audible gasps as they recognized who the mysterious role of Chryssa belonged to. But Elaina refused to let them distract her. She sang her few lines with Don Juan as he barked orders at her. This went on for a few minutes and then Passarino came onstage, claiming to have met the most remarkable woman. That was when their whole plan started coming together. Elaina listened in, and then Don Juan addressed her harshly. He told her about how she must help him with the plan or he will throw her out to the streets. Her character agreed with him and then Don Juan and Passarino exited, leaving her to finish cleaning.

This was it. It was time for Chryssa's song.

The orchestra began to play, and she could feel Erik's eyes on her from the wings. Her voice trembled a bit at the beginning, but she refused to appear weak. This was the moment she had been waiting for her entire life, and that thought was what made her voice stronger. It started out as a very low song, representing the sadness Chryssa felt. Then the song became higher and bolder. With each line of the song, her voice gained strength as it stretched to notes most sopranos couldn't even hit. Her song ended with an extremely high note that she belted out as loud as she could, not caring much about her voice anymore.

When her song finished, the audience burst into thunderous applause. Elaina watched, trying not to break character, as some members of the audience even stood up for her. She knew that was unprofessional, which meant she must've been really, really good. She stole a glance over to the wings, but couldn't make out Erik from the shadows.

Don Juan and Passarino re-entered and it was almost time for Erik's entrance.

They recited the plan once again for Passarino to pretend to be Don Juan and Don Juan to pretend to be Passarino in order for Don Juan to seduce Aminta.

Don Juan put on the cloak and hid his face, then Elaina led him offstage. Time for the plan to go into action.

As soon as Piangi was offstage behind the curtain, Elaina took a prop and went to whack him on the back of the head, but he grabbed her hand before she did so. Elaina panicked, not knowing what to do. Without warning, Piangi slapped her on the cheek.

"How dare you steal the limelight from me and my precious diva?" he whispered harshly. "Have you been conspiring with the Phantom all this time?"

His hand coiled into a fist, and she flinched, but the blow never came. Erik had tied his Punjab lasso around his neck before he could do so. Elaina forced back the tears that threatened to come and focused on the task at hand. She quickly got the cloak off Piangi and handed it to Erik as he left Piangi on the floor.

She listened as Christine sang onstage, and smiled to herself as she remembered how she helped write those words. She helped Erik get the cloak on and then he went onstage and sang in place of Piangi. Elaina listened, entranced by his beautiful voice. This song was full of passion and lust, which made it a bit edgy for her. She looked at Piangi's motionless body and shuddered at how cold he had been to her and how terrible of a person he was. Even Erik hadn't laid a hand on her or hurt her physically in any way.

She left him lying there and went to go to the wing of the stage to watch the performance and try to avoid suspicious eyes. After all, no one had seen her for a year and didn't know what had happened to her. And they weren't about to find out.

She saw Meg and Madame Giry watch as Christine obviously realized the new performer was Erik as she jumped out of his embrace.

Nevertheless, she continued to sing her part to the song and did the right choreography. She sang to him as she led him up the stairs to the upper level of the set. She tried to get away from him at one point, but he grabbed her wrist and they sang together:

_Past the point of no return the final threshold_

_The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn. _

_We've passed the point of no return._

On "turn," Christine flipped the hood off of Erik's head, revealing the Phantom to everyone. But it was too late to act. They couldn't just stop the opera and alarm the audience. Christine looked up to Raoul who was sitting in one of the boxes, silently pleading for help.

Elaina wasn't sure where this was going. She wasn't supposed to flip his hood off.

Then Erik began to sing quietly:

_Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime. _

_Lead me, save me from my solitude. _

_Say you want me with you, here beside you. _

Elaina recognized this as the song Christine and Raoul had sung to each other that night on the roof. This wasn't part of his opera. He was improvising now. He placed a ring on her finger and forced it on quite roughly, signaling that she was his.

Erik sang again:

_Anywhere you go let me go too _

_Christine, that's all I ask of—_

The word "you" was never sung. Without warning, Christine yanked off the Phantom of the Opera's mask and wig, revealing his true form to the entire audience. For the first time, Elaina saw what was under the mask. Against her will, her face contorted to a look of disgust. She had never seen such a deformed face in her entire life. His cheek was twisted and lumped in a way she couldn't describe and a huge part of his skull was exposed. He had a few wisps of brown hair, but there wasn't much under that black wig. She had never known that that was what he kept hidden from her and the rest of the world. No wonder Christine seemed so scared by him, especially if he was angry at her while unmasked.

He screamed in anguish and grabbed Christine close to him. Then he whipped out a knife and sliced the rope holding the chandelier. It began to fall as he kicked a lever and he and Christine fell down through the fake fire in the middle of the stage. Elaina ran to the fire and looked down, tempted to go after them.

She watched in horror as the chandelier fell over the audience and crashed right in the middle of the seats, setting a fire ablaze that quickly began to consume the Opera House.

That had not gone according to plan.


	10. Down in Erik's Lair

**Well, I've officially started classes at college! Which means I have less and less time for writing fanfiction :( BOO! There is one more chapter of this one, and thank you to all my beautiful followers! Enjoy the second to last chapter!**

* * *

Erik dragged Christine firmly by the wrist down to his lair. It reminded him of how he brought down Elaina so forcibly. But this was a woman he loved. And she had betrayed him…twice!

Christine tried to yank out of his grasp, just like Elaina had done, but he held onto her tightly, not letting her get away.

Why couldn't she just realize that the only reason he was doing all this was because he loved her, and yet she couldn't find it in her heart to love him?

* * *

Elaina saw Madame Giry take Raoul away and she knew that he was going down to the lair to find Christine and get her back. Elaina wanted to follow, but everyone was panicking and scrambling about and she knew that she needed to help.

She grabbed one the of the ballet girls, and recognized her immediately as one of the former chorus girls she used to work with.

"Elaina?" the girl said surprised. "Where have you been?"

"It's a really long story. Listen to me. We need to get everyone out of here. This place is going up and fast. Help me get everyone away from here."

"Okay!"

Together, the two girls grabbed everyone they could and got them to the exit.

Elaina looked over and saw Carlotta weeping over Piangi's dead body. Even though she hated both of them, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the woman. She went over to her and lightly touched her shoulders.

"Madame, you must get out of here," she said softly.

Carlotta looked up and went to slap her. But Elaina had had enough of everyone trying to harm her and she grabbed onto Carlotta's wrist.

"This is all your fault!" Carlotta growled.

"If you want to blame someone, blame the woman who took off the Phantom's mask and humiliated him in front of everyone!"

"You and Christine are doing everything to ruin my career!"

"You're not going to have a career anymore if you don't get out of here now!"

She gently tore her away from Piangi and led her in the direction of the exit where her friend took over from there. It looked like almost everyone was out. Then she heard crying…

* * *

After Erik forced Christine into the wedding dress on the wax doll of her, she came out of the room that Elaina had used and demanded:

_Have you gorged yourself at last in your lust for blood?_

_Am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh?_

Erik listened to the hatred in her voice. It was something Elaina never had. She only had fear in her voice, despite her attempts to hide it.

Erik shook his head, trying to get Elaina out of his mind:

_That fate which condemns me to wallow in blood_

_Has also denied me the joys of the flesh._

_This face, the infection, which poisons our love._

Christine looked at him like he had lost his mind, but Erik continued to sing, trying to make her understand:

_This face which earned a mother's fear and loathing_

_A mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing._

_Pity comes too late!_

_Turn around and face your fate!_

_An eternity of this before your eyes!_

Erik forced a bridal veil onto her head and pointed angrily at himself so she knew that this was her new world. She looked around and at him with disgust and pity. He knew she hated it down here and didn't want to spend the rest of her life here. Yet…Elaina would have. It seemed like she had already spent an eternity down her as it was. Where was she anyway? Had she truly run off this time? Could she not find the lair on her own? Had she gotten hurt by one of the traps?

Wait, why was he even thinking about her? This was not the time or place.

Christine sang quietly to him:

_This haunted face holds no horror for me now._

_It's in your soul that the true distortion lies_.

Erik heard splashing and found himself hoping it was Elaina but saw with great disappointment that it was the stupid boy coming up to the portcullis, drenched in water and sweat. He smiled, thinking how he must've have fallen into his trapdoor on the stairs.

"Raoul!" Christine screamed, realizing who was there.

Erik calmly sang to him and pulled Christine close to his body. She was trembling fiercely. He almost felt bad for her. He remembered Elaina shivering against him at the cemetery as he shielded her from the cold with his cape.

No, he had to get Elaina out of his thoughts!

Erik slowly lifted the portcullis and allowed the boy to enter into his domain. Without warning, he threw his Punjab lasso over Raoul's neck and pulled tightly, noticeably cutting off much of his oxygen supply.

Christine sang softly to Erik:

_The tears I might have shed for your dark fate_

_Grow cold and turn to tears of hate!_

Erik remained speechless for a second. Did she really hate him that much now? This hadn't been what he wanted! What had he even expected? That he would sing to Christine and she would just decide that she loved him instead?

His thoughts one again traveled to Elaina and how much she had helped him and not shown the hate towards him that he was receiving now. Why was he still thinking about her?

Erik gave Christine a choice: Stay with him and he would let Raoul go free, or she may leave but then Raoul would die.

He looked at the boy tied to the portcullis. While at the Opera House, he had only used his Punjab lasso three times now. Both times, he was saving Elaina. Now he was doing it in cold blood.

But he couldn't wait for Christine anymore. "You try my patience," he growled. "Make your choice."

Christine looked at him and Raoul. Then she sang ever so softly to him:

_Pitiful creature of darkness_

_What kind of life have you known?_

_God give me courage to show you_

_You are not alone!_

She turned him around and kissed him hard and full on the lips. Erik's eyes widened at the sign of affection. Was she actually choosing him and not her lover?

His hands softly caressed her back as she kissed him again. But she didn't love him. There was no feeling in this kiss or in her eyes. Even if Christine stayed down her with him, she would never love him the way he loved her. He knew what he had to do. Because he loved her, he had to let her and her lover go free.

Erik took a candle and broke the lasso. "Take her. Forget me. Forget all of this," he said quietly. "Leave me alone. Forget all you've seen." He watched as Christine and Raoul shared a tight embrace, a feeling he never knew. "Go now. Don't let them find you! Take the boat, swear to me never to tell." His voice grew louder and louder as he could feel his heart ripping in half at the thought of losing his love. "The secret you know of the angel in hell! Go! Go now! Go now and leave me!"

The monkey figurine he had began to play the familiar tune he knew so well. He began to sing along quietly with the little cymbals:

_Masquerade. Paper faces on parade._

_Masquerade. Hide your face so the world will never find you._

He turned and saw Christine standing there. His eyes perked up. Had she come back for him? Did she actually love him?

His hopes were shattered as she placed the ring he had given her into his hand.

With one last cry, he sang:

_Christine, I love you._

Christine's eyes watered and she began to cry. She kissed his hand and turned to leave. She turned around to give him one last look, and he simply nodded, saying she was allowed to leave. He heard her and Raoul singing to each other and cried:

_You alone can make my song take flight!_

_It's over now, the Music of the Night!_

He collapsed onto the ground of his lair in despair. He had lost his one love forever. Once more, his mind went back to Elaina. Where was she? He assumed she had made the getaway she always truly wanted.

But perhaps…

He had felt his love for Christine slipping away each day and being replaced with love for another. He had denied it, desiring to be true to the woman he had loved for years. But honestly, he couldn't say that he felt the same way for Christine now as he did when he first brought her down here. Maybe, just maybe…

The voices of the mob coming after him rang out across the labyrinth. He had to get away from them. He had to get out of the lair. But where was Elaina? Something didn't feel right to him. He needed to find her.


	11. Erik and Elaina

**Well, this is the final chapter! Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers and followers! You are all amazing! :) Enjoy!**

* * *

Elaina found the source of the crying to be a little girl covered in ashes, hiding under a chair that wasn't crushed by the chandelier.

"Hey, sweetheart, where are your parents?" Elaina asked calmly.

The girl just shook her head and continued sobbing.

"Come here."

The little girl slowly came out from under the chair and to Elaina's arms. She held her close to her chest and tried to find her ballet friend so she could get the girl to safety and help her find her parents.

Suddenly, a huge portion of the set fell on top of Elaina. She could tell nothing was broken, but she had the lost the grip on the girl.

"Elaina!" her friend shrieked as she ran to her.

"Don't worry about me! Get the girl and find her parents!"

"You'll die!"

"I'll be fine! Now go!"

Her friend reluctantly picked up the girl and ran to the exit. Elaina managed to get the set piece off of her, but her mind started going foggy from inhaling too much smoke.

Lacking all the strength to stand, she tried to crawl away from the stage towards the left wing to somewhere where she could breathe.

She started coughing something fierce from the smoke that entered her lungs.

With one last hope she cried weakly, "Erik!" Still trying to crawl away, she coughed more before trying again, "Erik!"

Before she knew it, her head slumped against her arm and everything went black.

* * *

Erik scoured the remains of the Opera House looking for Elaina. He didn't understand why he was trying to find her. She had to have escaped to get away from the monster. And yet, she had the opportunity to escape during the Masquerade Ball and she didn't. Did that mean she _wanted _to stay?

As he went to the stage, entering from the right wing, he somehow found his signature mask. How it had not gone up in flames yet, he didn't know. He searched for his black wig and found it nearby. He repositioned them on his face, so as to guard Elaina from the horror he was if he found her.

He could barely see anything through the smoke when he heard very faint cries. It sounded like someone was saying his name! It had to be Elaina! He had never told anyone else his name! He headed towards the left wing and found the girl unconscious on the floor of the stage. Her costume was singed in several places and she had black ash streaks on her body.

Ever so gently, he picked her up and carried her away from the smoke.

She stirred in his arms and at one point, her eyes fluttered open.

"Elaina?" Erik said to her as he kept walking.

Elaina said nothing in response, but succumbed once again to unconsciousness. He pulled her closer to him in a protective way. Her head rested against his chest as he hurried on, trying not to lose focus on the task ahead of him. Having nowhere else to go, he took her back to his lair, hoping that the mob had left the place clear when they found no trace of him.

Sure enough, when he rowed the gondola back to his home, almost everything was still in place, save for a few items that had been trashed, but nothing was serious.

He took Elaina and placed her down in the swan bed, pulling the covers over her frail body. He was shocked to find that she still looked…beautiful, despite the circumstances.

He gently stroked her face and hair and found himself singing to her softly:

_Nighttime sharpens,_

_Heightens each sensation._

_Darkness stirs and wakes imagination_

_Silently the senses_

_Abandon their defenses._

He remembered singing this song to Christine after he first brought her down to the lair. She had seemed so entranced and amazed by his world, until she unmasked him. Then he was the most terrifying human she had ever seen. But to Elaina, she didn't seem to care. Perhaps, she was afraid of his face, but attempted to hide it like she always did with her fears. However, she seemed to not be afraid of him. She had called his name for help when she was trapped by the smoke. She knew he would come to help her. She knew what he looked like and still needed him. She needed him. He needed...

Erik finished his song for her and left her to sleep, leaving her to her dreams.

* * *

Elaina slowly woke up, unaware of her surroundings at first. Then she noticed she was in the swan bed that she had spent several months in! Did that mean…Erik must've found her and brought her back! She slowly got out of bed and a few coughs slipped out of her throat, still fighting off the smoke.

She went out to the lair and found Erik seated at the organ.

"Erik?" she said. "What happened with Christine?"

"She left with the boy. She didn't love me. I had to let her go."

Elaina remained silent, but felt bad for him.

"I'm such a fool," Erik continued, putting his head in his hands. "Who could ever love a monster such as this?"

"Me!" Elaina blurted. Erik whipped his head around to look at her. "I love you, Erik."

Erik slowly got up from the organ and came over to her. He towered over her, but this time, not in such a menacing way.

"How long?" he simply asked.

"Since the Masquerade Ball," she admitted. She felt ridiculous. Here she was confessing her love for a man who only had eyes for one woman and kidnapped her because of that love.

"And yet," Erik said, "you still tried to help me win over Christine?"

"I wanted you to be happy. Even if it meant you weren't with me."

She looked down, not wanting to meet his eyes. But Erik gently took her chin and tilted her head up towards him.

Then she felt his lips on hers and her heart began to soar. Their lips danced on each other in a soft, tender kiss. He pulled away too quickly for her.

"My dear Elaina, I love you too."

Elaina slowly reached up and touched his mask. Erik's hand whipped to hers and he clutched onto it tightly. Elaina said nothing, but just looked at him. Her beautiful eyes made him feel like he never had before. He slowly removed his hand from hers and she ever so gently removed the mask from his face.

"You can love this monster?" he asked quietly.

Elaina set his mask down and kissed him hard and passionately. She felt Erik's hands grip her back, tightly pulling her close to him. Her arms went around his neck and in turn, pulled him closer to her. They caught each other in a tight embrace and neither wanted to release from it.

When they broke for air, Elaina looked deep into his eyes and saw that all the anger she had seen before was gone. Now they were filled with a deep longing for love…the love that she gave him now. The love he never got from Christine. The love that Christine could never give him because her heart belonged to another.

But Elaina's heart belonged solely to Erik.

For he was not a monster or a ghost, but a man. A man who just wanted someone to look behind the monster he believed himself to be. And now, he had finally found what he had truly always wanted.


End file.
